Mumbai weekend fix: Go on a secret trip, make new friends blindfolded

(MYOLO organises Secret talks, where you meet and converse with strangers while blindfolded. The idea is to remove visual cues from the equation when making friends.)

Does the idea of going on a trip with a bunch of strangers without knowing the destination excite you? Would you like to land up at a secret gig and enjoy a musical surprise planned for you? Mumbai has several events for those who like the thrill of the unknown.

Divyanshi Garg, 22, student of clinical psychology from Jogeshwari, thought the idea of meeting strangers and talking to them blindfolded seemed like a fun social experiment. “I got to know about Secret Talks, an event by MYOLO (Me. You. Only. Live. Once), a networking app through Facebook,” she says. She attended the event with 30 strangers last month. “We were blindfolded while we were talking to each other in groups, the idea was to not have any prejudices about each other based on looks.” The group talked about a range of tops such as their first crush, places they love to hang out at and drunken experiences.

Mumbai has several ‘open’ secrets you can sign up for. Here are some:

THE SECRET GIG

Sofar Bombay, a community of music lovers in the city, hosts secret gigs in livings, on rooftops and at defunct art studios. “We keep the location a secret,” says Arul Kacker, city leader of the group. “We only reveal it a while before the start of the event.” Secrets do not end here. “The curated line-up of artists and the playlist is also undisclosed,” adds Kacker.

Sofar hosts secret gigs in living rooms, art studios and rooftops.

It creates an intimate affair of around 50 people with artists performing live. “We have performers across the genres that are not well-known,” says Kacker. “We do not usually repeat the line-up or locations so always expect surprises every month,” he smiles.

Entry is free and they occasionally pass a hat around so you can contribute depending on how much you liked the performances.

To check out their gig calendar, go to sofarsounds.com. Entry is free.

SECRET TRIP

Last year, Christopher Varghese, 24, an entrepreneur from Borivli went on road trip with 40 strangers without knowing the destination. The trip was organised by DrinksOnMe, a nightlife app. “The idea of packing a bag and heading to a place unknown thrilled me,” he says. “We were picked from a bus stop in Bandra-Kurla Complex and taken to wineries in Nashik.”

DrinksOnMe hosted a secret trip to vineries in Nashik last year.

DrinksOnMe has launched an app this month called Unpland.in that helps you plan a secret trip yourself. “You enter your hobbies, the kind of adventures you like and the climate,” says Sanchit Gupta, founder. “We then curate a secret vacation for you.” Budgets start from Rs 4,000 for two days.

The DrinksOnMe app is available for iOS and Android.

MAKE FRIENDS BLINDFOLDED

MYOLO, a networking app, started organising Secret talks, an event where you meet and converse with strangers, in December. Here’s the twist: you are blindfolded all the while you talk.

The lack of visual cues encourages you to talk to people without judging them or being judged in return, says Manan Rathore, cofounder. “We organise the event roughly every month in parks and gardens,” he says. About 50 people attend.

Connect with them on Facebook.com/MyoloWorld.

SECRET LETTERS

How about writing letters and postcards that can make someone’s day? Or receiving them from people you don’t know? An illustrator in the city makes and sends postcards anonymously. “Write to me if you want to send or receive a postcard,” says Sukriti Sarwan, founder. “You can send across good wishes, a joke or a poem and cure somebody’s Monday blues.”

‘Illustrations By No One’ helps you send postcards to strangers.

You can also join a small group called The Good Will Tribe to write letters to strangers. Here’s how it works. “People going through exams or a breakup, or who just want to receive a letter send their details to us through a Google form,” says Grafleen D’Souza, a member of the group. “We then organise an event every month where others volunteer to write letters to those people.” In their first event last month in Bandra, 20 people wrote to 100 recipients they’d never met. So this could be your chance to make an anonymous difference.

To attend their event in Bandra today, and write letters for people unknown, email thegoodwilltribe.mumbai@gmail.com